The Most Important Item in Your Wardrobe

Gallery17 Slides

If you don't already own a well-fitting sports jacket, it should be the first thing you buy this spring. Play it right and you'll look as sharp as dapper soul man Trey Songz. This is our lapel-to-hem guide to buying and wearing the season's best styles

**Please Repeat: **The sports jacket is the most important item in your wardrobe this season. You will be wearing it all day, every day, no kidding. (As you can see in these pages, there are countless ways to style it, whether you've got business to handle or you're simply hanging out.) Just remember: It's called a sports jacket for a reason. You can dress it up, but it's meant to be played in. Hard. That means throwing it on the backseat of your car or cramming it in your backpack once you've peeled it off. It doesn't need an occasion, and it doesn't need to match anything. It just needs to be worn...and worn...and worn, until it fits you like a second skin.

The days of sports jackets as the uniform of car salesmen and retirees are over. The key now? Precise fit and your own swagger.

A sports jacket isn't a suit, so don't treat it like one. A plaid shirt, purple sweater, anything from khakis to jeans—it all works. If you're uncertain, compose the outfit on your bed until you get it right. (We won't tell anyone, promise.)

Navy blazers have been hugging the shoulders of dapper gentlemen for nearly two centuries. More recently, they've been adopted by businessmen and rappers alike. They're that versatile. But do you know what your blazer says about you? Turns out the message is in the buttons. Choose the ones that suit your temperament.

Take It From The Italians

When in doubt, defer to the smoothest men on earth. The Italian take is all about horn buttons and soft shoulders.

The Modern Minimalist

If you're looking for understated elegance, pare things down with black, silver, or mirrored buttons. You can take this jacket from the office to dinner and then to the after-hours bar without changing a thing.

The easiest way to explain it is with heritage: In the olden days (like, before 1945), blazers were part of a school uniform, and sports jackets were worn for hunting and fishing. That's why blazers have a preppy connotation (you know, prep school) and are, more often than not, navy blue. (You've seen them in movies like St. Elmo's Fire and Rushmore.) These days, sports jacket has become a catchall term for anything that's not a blazer or part of a suit. We recommend having one navy blazer in any of the three styles shown in the following slides and at least one sports jacket, whether it's cotton, tweed, wool, or linen; lined or unlined; brown, black, khaki, or plaid. And yeah, we said at least one.

7/17

Nothing molds to your frame like an unconstructed spring sports jacket with no lining. The fit simply needs to be snug.

· It takes longer to make unconstructed jackets: The seams need extra finessing because they're exposed.

Jacket, $1,375 by Dolce Gabbana.

8/17

There's a new trend toward prewashed sports jackets. Think of them as you would distressed jeans—a little washing is a head start on breaking them in; a lot of washing looks ridiculous.

...and plays it here, and that's just two options.

Even a dressier double-breasted jacket can be worn in a laid-back way if you do it with confidence.

· To wear a double-breasted jacket unbuttoned, the fit should be as slim as possible; you don't want it billowing out. Feel free to roll up the sleeves, too—it's not that serious.

Jacket, $945 by Z Zegna. Shirt, $255 by Band of Outsiders. Jeans, $178 by 7 For All Mankind. Belt by Façonnable. Sunglasses by Ralph Lauren. Pocket square by The Tie Bar. Watch by Rolex.

13/17

Nothing travels better than a sports jacket. There are wrinkle-free versions with pockets for your iPhone and passport, like this one. But any style is a perfect flying companion. Don't be afraid to stuff it right in the overhead bin.

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